• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Logo

Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse

Library of Resources to Improve Roadway Work Zone Safety for All Roadway Users

  • About
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
  • X
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Work Zone Data
    • At a Glance
    • National & State Traffic Data
    • Work Zone Traffic Crash Trends and Statistics
    • Worker Fatalities and Injuries at Road Construction Sites
  • Topics of Interest
    • Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety
    • Smart Work Zones
    • Work Zone Safety and MobilityTransportation Management Plans
    • Accommodating Pedestrians
    • Worker Safety and Welfare
    • Project Coordination in Work Zones
  • Training
    • Online Courses
    • FHWA Safety Grant Products
    • Toolboxes
    • Flagger
    • Certification and
      Accreditation
  • Work Zone Devices
  • Laws, Standards & Policies
  • Public Awareness
  • About
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Search
Publication

A Particle Swarm Optimization Framework for Calibration of Driver Behavior Models at a Work Zone

Author/Presenter: Mahmood, Bawan; Kianfar, Jalil
Abstract:

Traffic impact assessment is a key step in the process of work zone planning and scheduling for transportation agencies. Microscopic traffic simulation models enable transportation agencies to conduct detailed analyses of work zone mobility performance measures during the planning and scheduling process. However, traffic simulation results are valid only when the simulation model is calibrated to replicate driver behavior observed in the field. Few studies have provided guidance on the calibration of traffic simulation models at work zones and have offered driver behavior parameters that reproduce capacity values observed in the field. This paper contributes to the existing body of knowledge on work zone traffic simulation by providing separate driver behavior models for heavy vehicles and passenger vehicles at work zones. The driver behavior models are obtained from field data collected at a work zone on Interstate 44 in St. Louis, Missouri. The driver behavior parameters are derived to replicate the flow and speed at the work zone taper and at roadway segments upstream of the work zone. A particle swarm optimization (PSO) framework is proposed to improve the efficiency of the calibration process. The desired time headway was found to be 2.50 seconds for heavy vehicles and 1.89 seconds for passenger cars. The longitudinal following threshold was found to be 39.36 feet for heavy vehicles and 13.12 feet for passenger cars. The proposed driver behavior parameters were tested against field data that had not previously been used in the calibration of driver behavior models. The average absolute relative error (AARE) for volumes at the taper was 7.2% and the GEH index for volumes at the taper was 3.5.

Source: Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting, January 7-11, 2018, Washington DC
Publisher: Transportation Research Board
Publication Date: 2018
Source URL: Link to URL
Publication Types: Books, Reports, Papers, and Research Articles
Topics: Behavior; Commercial Vehicles; Driving Behavior; Impacts; Mobility; Performance Measurement; Traffic Simulation; Work Zones

Copyright © 2025 American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). The National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse is a project of the ARTBA Transportation Development Foundation. It is operated in cooperation with the U.S. Federal Highway Administration and Texas A&M Transportation Institute. | Copyright Statement · Privacy Policy · Disclaimer
American Road and Transportation Builders Association Transportation Development Foundation, American Road and Transportation Builders Association U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration Texas A&M Transportation Institute